Just got a quote from Honda for carb rubbers at R464, thats 40pounds for 4! Spares for the VFR are fuking ridiculous!

You could try David Silver Spares, seem to be a lot cheaper on some things but dont have a totally comprehensive website, think they can get pretty much anything though.

i got some from david silver not too long ago , think they were £5 each but after vat and delivery bout £27 or summit

Yep, 5.00 + vat / delivery from DSS.. I dont think thats that pricey anyway.. all bikes are expensive! :/

Its awful expensive for a small,round, rather thin piece of rubber! But good point about bikes in general...

When you actually take into account everything it's not that bad.

Firstly the rubber is a type to withstand the heat of the engine and petrol from the carbs.

I'd also imagine that this carb rubber is specific to the V4 NC13 engine (NC2x/3x) so any new parts that are made are made in a limited smaller run, which also adds to cost.

A great deal of the costing will have been the initial set-up to produce a batch.

Then it has to be shipped from Japan to the UK.

The part will become cheaper the more they make but there not made so much anymore.. just thankful that parts are still available...

Also thankful that the ones your changing are probably 20 year old originals.. think you only have to buy them once for another 20 years :)

You make valid points, but theres no denying dealerships add a heavy markup,as specialised as carb rubber may be, the cost price is probably a fraction of what we pay, and the vehicle makes them money long after its left the showroom, more so when parts become limited as you stated. There should be more aftermarket companies considering the number of nc's still running worldwide